Walking tour of Saigon and Dam Sen Water Park

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Found out this morning that Phil has passed all his exams (7) and four with distinctions. So very proud of him! That light at the end of that tunnel is getting closer....I can just about touch it!!!

Today is a walking tour of Saigon. Len has the squirts so he is not joining us, he needs to be close to a toilet! The plan is to head down to the river, walk along the river and back towards the reunification palace for a lunch around there. Well, crossing the street with 6 kids and all of us is nightmare itself. The streets in Saigon are wide and it is organised kaos with the traffic. As long as you don't stop and walk at the same pace the motorbikes weave around you (usually!).

Finally got down to the river via a couple of smelly markets (kids holding their noses!) and we can't walk along the river as it is all under road construction. Try for about a km or so, but does not really work all that well. So back into the traffic again and have to take a different way. Finally end up at the river again, near the ferry spot that disembarks for Can Tho. Its near some flash hotels.

Walked past the post office and the cathedral, after lunch will have look at them. Had lunch at Ngon Cafe, was quite nice, they had fans with water attached so was lovely and cool. It is very hot and humid in Saigon and everyone was dripping wet. Not nice!!! Had a nice meal, the beer not cold and had to have ice blocks in it....the beer in Vietnam is usually colder than what we found in Cambodia. Often had to have ice blocks in our beer there.

The cathedral was closed when we went back, so visited the post office. It is a lovely old building and very cool inside. Dried off before we tackled the traffic again.

Got back to hotel, just about everyone went for a massage and the girls all had their fingernails painted with flowers. The painting is alot nicer than what I've seen done in Bali.

Next day Phil has the squirts and his piles are playing up! So Janine spends ages in the chemist down the street trying to find cream for him. The poor girl who worked there had no idea what she was saying and hand actions didnt quite work this time!!! Eventually janine came back to the hotel and looked up on the internet what the vietnamese word might be and some ingredients in the cream. Success!!!!

Just before lunch we head to Dam Sen Water park, its about 40min from the hotel. Phil and I are in one taxi with 3 of the kids and once again we get hit by a motorbike! The driver was really agro and wouldnt let the motorbike go! Road rage in vietnam!

Got to the waterpark and never saw the kids again. Was only about $6 to get in for each adults and the kids about $2.50. Food was cheap also...not nice, but cheap. Beer was really cheap (50cents) and reasonably cold, so managed to drink a few. They had a couple of really good rides, the twister was Phil's and Kyle's fav, you come out into a big bowl and the water pushes you around until you fall out the bottom! Kamekazi was Sam's fav, really fast water slide and fly off at the end. Issy likes any of the slides.

Kyle spent the afternoon talking to anyone who'd talk to him on the rides. The vietnamese are very open and love to practice their english on you. They always start with 'where are you from' and 'what is your name'.

Back to hotel and have to repack into smaller packs to take with us on the Mekong tour with Jason our guide tomorrow morning. Next is the mekong tour but that will have to be done from Hoi An as it is nearly time for us to depart. Thuy, from the hotel checked with Jetstar this morning and once again the flight is delayed by a hour...but I'm on the ball now so we won't be waiting at the airport!!!

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Comments

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well done phil
always new he had brains in that big head, i'm sure you should write a book tracy, enjoying every minute of it, i have to get up early to read or i dont get chance, busy live i have catch u later and give bro a big kiss from me for being so clever. xx p.s all the lads got the piles from tom. lucky them